For soldiers, relief workers, law enforcement officers and other personnel, collectively referred to herein as first responders, the ability to communicate with persons in their immediate surroundings is often of paramount importance. If a first responder is unable to effectively communicate with people in his or her surroundings, this can delay or even prevent required assistance from being given and can even result in an unnecessary loss of life due to miscommunication, lack of situational awareness or understanding of cultural differences and/or nuances.
First responders may be deployed in foreign countries, in military zones, and even domestically in ethnic neighborhoods. As a result, it may be necessary for a translator to accompany first responders in their missions in order to assist them in effective communication and other language services. Alternatively, the responders themselves may be required to be trained in native languages and cultures relevant to their surroundings in order to assist themselves.
Having translators accompany first responders, is less than ideal because of the inherent limitation in capability imposed by the number of available translators—a translator can only be in a single place at one time. In conflict situations, the risk to loss of translators exacerbates these constraints. Also, only be a small number of translators and/or cultural experts fluent in some lesser known languages. Thus, the implementation of effective language and cultural services for first responder and other in field workers remains a challenge.